Who are physician associates and anaesthesia associates?

Published 18 November 2024

As a multiprofessional regulator, we recognise and regulate doctors, physician associates and anaesthesia associates as three distinct professions. 

Physician associates

Physician associates (PAs) are healthcare professionals who work under the supervision of a doctor within multi-disciplinary teams. They are not doctors.

PAs usually start out as health professionals or university graduates with biomedical science or life science degrees. They then complete two years of further education and training to gain a PA qualification. 

Anaesthesia associates

Anaesthesia associates (AAs) provide care for patients before, during and after their operation or procedure under the supervision of a doctor. They are not doctors.

AAs usually start out as health professionals or biomedical science graduates and complete a further two-year programme of postgraduate education and training. Student AAs are employed by the organisations where they train while completing their AA course, and many remain with that organisation after qualifying. 

  1. Summary
  2. Registration
  3. Fees
  4. Professional standards
  1. Revalidation
  2. Raising a concern
  3. PAs and AAs in practice
  4. Education and training
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